Toyama

Toyama Castle

Toyama City is the capital, political and economic hub of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. With a population of 420,000, this city is located the Sea of Japan coast in the center of the prefecture about 180 kilometers northwest of Tokyo in the central region of Honshu Island. Because warm currents from the south and cold currents from the north meet in Toyama Bay, it a migrating ground for a variety of fish and an ideal place for seafood. East of the city, the famous Tateyama mountain range of the Japan Alps rises twelve thousand feet isolating it from the Pacific side of Honshu Island.

Toyama is famous for its eastern medicine, particularly the “Han-Gon-Han”, a mixture made from the extract of the musk bag of a deer, herbs and other animal medicinal sources. People from Toyama still travel all over Japan selling the age-old remedies.

Beginning in late March for about three months, the “firefly” squid shed their blue-white light producing a magical scene as they swim into fixed nets located near the shore. At the end of the year the city also is known for the largest celebration of lights on the Sea of Japan with a 1.5 kilometer-long tree illumination of LED lights brightly illuminating the street, creating a romantic setting. The lighting displays the image of the Tateyama Mountain Ranges and the high tide of the Japan Sea creating a fantastic atmosphere. The New Year Countdown and “All Japan Ramen Noodle and Seafood of the Japan Sea Festival” take place during the illumination. Japanese eat noodles on New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight symbolizing long continued unbroken life from one year to the next.

Toyama City is very traditional and slow to accept outsiders. Being isolated as are many of Japan’s cities on the Japan Seaside, its citizens are careful to maintain their local customs and religions. Less than .05 percent is Christian.

Prayer Requests:

•   Pray for the light of the gospel to illuminate the hearts of people in Toyama City so they will trust Jesus, the Light of the World, as their Savior.
•   Pray for those leaving Toyama to sell the ago-old remedies to encounter believers who will share the Good News of the Great Physician who has the power to forgive and heal them of sin.
•   Pray for strongholds to be broken and courage to forsake traditions and religions in order to embrace Christ who gives life eternal that cannot be broken.